


The Demon of the Jungle (That Once Was Human)

by AralineDelia



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: 173rd Airborne Brigade, Angst, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Author will Sleep now that they've speedrun the last half of a chapter and posted it anyways, BAMF Klaus Hargreeves, But it doesn’t stick because Klaus, Canon Divergence, Cause he was a jerk, Character Death, F/M, Levitation, M/M, Me being cryptic, No Incest, Poetic, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Seriously why do I have to tag that?, Slight Luther bashing, Telekinesis, Vietnam, Vietnam War, Why Did I Write This?, Wikipedia is a good friend, and confusing myself, canon is a beach and i’m building a fucking sand castle, mostly because I wanted to stick to the real life timeline of Vietnam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24540310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AralineDelia/pseuds/AralineDelia
Summary: What if after Dave’s death, Klaus stayed behind to avenge him? What if he decided to sober up in the jungle to see him again? When he disappears, everyone knows that he’s only going to come back to deliver prisoners or soldiers... or a body count. When he comes home, no one is ready for the Klaus that’s sober and a hardened soldier.Is a slight Dark Klaus, but no more than his usual cynical self combined with the horrors of war.Written before season 2 aired, so no spoilers for that but major Spoilers for season 1.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Dave/Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves/Eudora Patch, Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves
Comments: 59
Kudos: 398





	1. Book Cover

**Author's Note:**

> Excuse my crazy brain for coming up with this disaster of a fic. I wrote all of this in one sitting, and I have absolutely no idea what the plot’s gonna be once he gets back home. If you’re as crazy as me, then go ahead and read this catastrophe of a fic. Enjoy, I guess.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I drew some cover art. Let me know what you think!  
> Also, the next chapter is in the works... but writers block is a bitch.

  
I hope you like it... but keep in mind that this isn’t completely accurate as to Klaus’ portrayal. I just thought this looked more ominous, and pretty intimidating to start with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a discord server... Please join! I’d love to hear your thoughts and it’s kinda lonely.  
> If you'd like to join, here's the link: [I look forward to seeing you there!](https://discord.gg/fM6cY5pGDR)  
> I'll try to be on, but I think that I'll be more active in the early hours of EST. My sleep schedule is weird.


	2. Spread Your Wings and Bare Your Teeth (For The Demon Has Risen)

Klaus Hargreeves had had enough of the Charlies. No, really, he was just done with all of them. They had just made the biggest mistake of their lives.

But honestly, Dave was a good man! He was a beautiful, kind man... and they killed him.

Dave might’ve been a good man, but Klaus sure wasn’t. The member of the Umbrella Academy had been fucked up way before he’d gotten to the battlefield. I mean, honestly, who locks up a child (who can _see ghosts_ ) in a mausoleum.

One of the only good things that had come out of Vietnam was the fact that he had found an actual supportive family, he mused as he filled his pack with his rations and extra ammunition. Klaus knew how to survive in the jungle better than other people, being a quick learner with a survival instinct. 

(Most of the time, anyway. God would just send him back if he died, so he didn’t really need one. Plus it was nice to have a chat with someone that knew his modern pop culture, even if they looked like an early teen girl.)

No one stopped him as he shouldered his rifle and slipped away into the thick foliage. They knew that it happened all the time, men running from the war in a desperate attempt to get away from the carnage. 

Nope. Not this man’s plan, anyways. Klaus had left behind a note (ha, more like a letter) that explained what he was going to be doing. He also knew that he wasn’t about to come back anytime soon. 

His fingers ghosted over the twin sets of dog tags at his throat. He glanced over at the somber huddle of his brothers-in-arms trying to stay strong. He remembered the way it was when more of the brigade was still there.

Seven months ago, Dave had nicknamed him the Demon of the Jungle. Klaus had jokingly replied with a quip over what his name would be. Then other men in the 173rd had (for whatever reason) actually seriously debated over it for maybe ten minutes before coming up with the name Abaddon.

“That sounds like something right out of a theology textbook!” Klaus had laughed, as a newer recruit (Jamie, his name had been Jamie. He’d die of an infection three weeks later ) shrugged and replied with,

“Abaddon means destroyer. Then again, it’s sometimes used as another name for the devil.” Liam, who sat to his left, gave him a teasing shove as the rest of the group dissolved into laughter at how weird the name was.

Klaus clutched the tags in a hard grip, feeling the sharp edges dig into his palm, the pain bringing him back out of the trace;. Shaking off the memory of the good times, Klaus snuck further into the thick jungle, watching the small animal path closely for any signs of traps or mines. Even though he could come back to life, he’d never tested being blown apart. (He had no intention to ever find out)

~~~

Back at the camp he’d left behind, Liam had come across the letter when he’d been looking for Klaus in the wake of Dave’s death. 

(It really wasn’t all that much of a secret that the two of them were madly in love. So far, no one had cared. Klaus considered that very lucky, considering this was the 1960s.)

Before he’d even read the first line, Liam was running across camp to the group that had been their squad for the past ten months. One look at his sad and panicked face had them all standing, their voices overlapping in the silence that had fallen ever since the brigade had returned.

“Where is he?”

“What’s he doin’-”

“Klaus you stubborn moron-“

“Please tell me he didn’t do what I think he did-“

“Jesus, that’s longer than the letters we get from home.”

The voices quieted down as Sarge emerged from his tent, eyes red and sad beyond belief. (Everyone knew he’d been crying, but no one commented. They really didn’t have any room to judge.) His voice was rough and his shoulders slumped a tiny bit when he looked at the letter in Liam’s hand.

Liam glanced down at the paper, crinkled from his tight grip. Oliver, who had arrived at the same time as Klaus, stood and carefully took the letter from Liam’s shaking hand. He cleared his throat several times, trying to start the letter without a voice crack (it didn’t work).

_“Dear whoever finds this letter, please don’t bring me back._

_“Now that he’s gone, I figure the only thing holding me here is gone. The black briefcase under my bed is a time travel machine, like I said. I know when this war ends. I’ll go home then._

_“I know that this is going to hurt everyone, and I’m reacting a little irrationally, but I couldn’t really care anymore. I’m going to live up to my name and hunt down as many Charlies as I can in the jungle.”_

Liam choked and wheezed out a, “What?”

“The idiot’s doin’ what?!”

“I said he was a moron but this really-“

“Shhh, I wanna hear this.” 

Once the murmurs subsided, Oliver (who had been scrubbing furiously at his eyes) continued, “ _You’re probably all questioning my sanity right now._ ”

“Yea, no shit Spook.”

“Shut up Peter.”

_“I’m questioning if I had any to start with, and if Dave was the only thing keeping me from breaking down. To be completely honest, I think that that is very true. I’ll come back at least once every few months. If prisoners of war randomly show up, that’ll probably be me._

_“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I swear I’ll stay for at least a few days whenever I do come visit._

“Yeah, you’d better.”

_“With love, Klaus Hargreeves (aka Spook) (aka Abaddon)_ ”

Silence once again engulfed the group, every one of them trying to fight the urge to groan and facepalm. Sarge sat down hard on a log and pulled out a small flask. He shrugged away the incredulous looks from some of the others and said,

“I don’t know about you, but I really need to be drunk right about now.” Peter, who was smoking a joint, raised a finger like ‘you heard the man’.

~~~

Back in the jungle, Klaus could feel the beginnings of withdrawal crawling its way into his head. He let out a breath and continued on his way towards the nearest Charlie outpost. Luckily, withdrawal from the heavier drugs had happened during the start of the tour.

Once he was a good few miles away from camp (several hours later) Klaus started looking for shelter. Spotting a small hollow underneath the roots of one of the massive trees, he gathered some leaves and fashioned a cover. Once the sun disappeared under the horizon, he slipped inside after setting a small trap outside the entrance. 

Stretching as far as he could without bringing the cover down, he slipped into a half asleep, half awake state. The night passed quickly and the morning sun started beating down on the jungle floor. The world seemed to be holding its breath for the emergence of Abaddon, the Demon of the Jungle.

Klaus trudged towards the outpost, shimmying his way up a tree to get a good vantage point. From above, he was able to get clean shots in the heard of half a dozen Charlies before the alarm was sounded. 

Descending from the tree, he pulled out a pistol and fought his way through the rest of the outpost in maybe ten minutes, the blood staining his army vest like a twisted trophy.

Klaus’ eyes were dark, his face full of rage as he wiped the outpost off of the map.

The only thing the next reconnaissance mission found was a message, written in blood on the wall of the building: Abaddon đang đến. Abaddon is coming.

Luckily, he’d picked up some of the language in the ten months he’d been trapped in this hellhole.

In total honesty, Klaus would’ve used something else but he’d forgotten to bring anything that he could write with. (The next time, he lit a fire and used charcoal instead. Using blood as ink really was gross.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! Leave a kudo to let me know that you're interested and bookmark/subscribe to keep up with the infrequent updates.  
> Stay safe in quarantine, little blossoms!


	3. Close Your Eyes and Hide Your Fear (The Demon Will Always Find You)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus' escapades across the jungles of his wartime home have brought back many of his fallen friends. Many... but the one he loved has yet to appear. Living in a time where his very existence is impossible, Klaus is doing all that he can to keep the soldiers on the track to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi.  
> God, why did I decide to publish this?  
> Also thank you all so much for your amazing comments! I can't tell you how much they inspired me to write more.  
> Also, I'm really sorry that it's taken me this long to update. I lost inspiration then got sucked into new fandoms so things got weird. I'm not going to promise regular updates, but I hope that I can get at least one chapter every month. Maybe.  
> I started writing this on a whim, so I didn't plan anything out. I'm going to keep it going like that.  
> Enjoy this absolute monstrosity of a chapter.  
> Also I'm sorry that I haven't responded to everyone that commented on the first chapter. I'm going to try to be better about that... Keyword being try... I'm sorry if I don't respond.  
> Edit 11/1/2020: 2k hits?! 300+ kudos?!?! 40 comments and almost 60 bookmarks?!?!?! Whaaaaaaa- You all actually like this...? Wow.

Klaus breathed a sigh of relief as the clearing that the 173rd used as a camp came into view. The maybe twenty prisoners or so that he had managed to free from one of the POW camps trudged along behind him. Two of them were injured pretty badly, and they needed to get back to camp pronto.

They’d been out here for the better part of a week... maybe. Time had started to blend together. Hopefully, he’d be able to find out the date once they got back.

Maybe Dave had manifested there...

Klaus shook himself out of those thoughts. The ghosts that followed him were the ones that had a purpose in the afterlife. They were much more coherent than the ones that had screamed at him in that mausoleum as a kid. (Though breaking the news to the prisoners that some of them hadn’t made it was definitely not something he would like to do again.)

Glancing down at the ground, Klaus searched for the familiar ring of mines that surrounded the camp. Looking back at the two dozen soldiers behind him, he called,

“Don’t step anywhere I don’t. I don’t really want to get blown up today, and I’m sure none of you do either.” Brief chuckles enveloped the group for a few seconds, the sound almost alien in the jungles of Vietnam.

They navigated the minefield with little difficulty, all of them already knowing how to spot a mine due to the torturous basic training.

A cry came up at the camp, medics running back to the makeshift infirmary that they’d been using as long as the Brigade had been here. Liam and Chaz rushed forward as soon as Klaus emerged from the thick foliage. They pulled him into a tight hug (that maybe crushed his ribs) and didn’t let go for a good minute.

Peter ran by them, taking one of the injured soldiers and rushing them to the med tent, Oliver hot on his heels with the other one.

“How the hell did you get them back here, Spook? You alright?” Chaz’s voice was both worried and awed.

“I wiped them out. Threw a grenade on the other side of the complex, then sprinted around to the cells. Once the others got their hands on some rifles it wasn’t all that hard.” Liam raised a thick eyebrow, his entire face radiating incredulity. 

“Seriously Spook? Wasn’t all that hard? Boy, you just took out an entire POW camp. That’s definitely hard stuff.” Klaus looked like he was trying to melt into the ground out of embarrassment. “Besides, you’ve been out there on your own for a month n’ a half. Take a rest, Spook.” Liam’s tone brokered no argument whatsoever.

Klaus sighed. His gaze swept across the camp, taking in the mass of men, both dead and alive. Familiar faces turned his way, people sending along greetings and worried exclamations.

Chaz searched his face for any sign of recognition as Klaus’ eyes started to fade into a blue glaze, a far cry from his usual emerald green. People started to flicker into sight around camp; bluish forms see-through and painfully recognizable.

Peter caught up with Chaz a few seconds after the specters started to flicker into view. He wasn’t very surprised at the paranormal activity taking place around him. The ghostly figures were actually kinda normal.

After Klaus has quit the heavy stuff, he’d gone through a bit of a weird stage where he would go into a random trance and summon all of these ghosts.

No matter how weird it is at the start, you can get used to anything if it happens often enough. Klaus had used his power fairly often, summoning specters to go behind enemy lines and bring back accurate information for artillery or assaults.

The higher ups had learned not to question where the information had come from. All of the brigade would clam up at the smallest probe into the inner workings of the 173rd. They really didn’t care as long as fewer people had to die.

Klaus himself had become something of a common figure around the entire camp, always helping out where he could. The blue figures had become more and more solid over the past few months, eventually being able to do small duties around camp and chat with the living soldiers. It did take a bit to get used to the various injuries they always had.

(It was also a very good coping mechanism for a dead person to tell you that it wasn’t your fault that they’d died.)

“He go under again?” Peter questioned, waving a hand in front of the practically catatonic Klaus.

“Think he’s been suppressing it for a good while, Pete. You know how he gets if he doesn’t use his abilities,” Chaz replied, recalling that one time when Klaus hadn’t responded for almost two days. The entire camp was so high-strung that Oliver had shrieked like a little girl when Liam tapped his shoulder for guard duty.

Peter nodded. Klaus had told him that he figured that suppressing his powers made them bubble up more than usual. It was like trying to repair a dam with your bare hands. Eventually, it all bursts out in a tide that consumes everything.

Klaus’ blue gaze flickered over the camp, where more and more ghosts were starting to interact with the living. Chaz let a small smile cover his face. He always loved those moments when they could interact with everyone that had been missing from the group.

Oliver tapped him on the shoulder. Chaz spun around with a small jump, his nerves on edge.

“Hey man. Sarge wants Klaus to turn in a report as soon as he’s... awake, I guess?. The guys he brought in are all gonna be fine, eventually.” Peter let out a small sigh of relief. Losing anyone else to this war would’ve been another bad blow, especially considering they were just freed from a POW camp.

False hope really is a horrible thing.

“Hey, did you get a count on how many people were at that complex?”

Oliver sighed. “Sarge said it was one of the smaller ones. It’s like it was for transferring them rather than long-term storage.”

Chaz nodded. Feeling another tap on his shoulder, he turned to see the familiar blue shape of Jamie flicker in and out of tangibility. Even so, it was impossible to mistake the bright grin on his face.

Jamie had been out on a mission when a Charlie sniper hit him on the side of his neck. It was a quick death, and he appeared almost instantly to launch himself with a roaring cry at said sniper. Klaus' eyes were a bright blue and everything started to tint the same color. Soldiers emerged from the jungle and started advancing on the unit. Within a minute, they were all gone.

That was one of the first times that Klaus had really gone all out. He'd still collapsed half an hour later due to the backlash of being high and using his powers at the same time though, so he usually doesn't count that.

Chaz gathered Jamie in his arms, squeezing as tightly as he dared. The ghost let out a loud chuckle and hugged back just as strongly. Oliver clapped a hand on both of their shoulders, a surprisingly soft smile on his face.

Klaus blinked back into the material world, words from a deceptively young girl ringing in his ears. He took in the scene and barreled into the trio with a loud laugh. He would never forget the chorus of ensuing shrieks.

After giving a slightly gruesome report to Sarge, he wandered around camp for a while, taking in the scenery. They had plans to move locations soon, and there was a very convenient Charlie outpost located right off the straight path. He wouldn't be too long if he took a little detour, right?

The rest of the division was sad to see him go, even though they knew that he'd be fine. Jamie flickered out of sight as he followed the monster made man into the thick foliage of his murder. Klaus checked the ammo on his sniper rifle as he charted out the route he would take. His eyes glowed a toxic blue, a color that every soldier in the enemy army would come to fear.

Like it or not, Klaus was the wall between the living and the dead personified. He would keep the things he loved away from the eternal dark, but he had no qualms about pulling those he hated down to the endless depths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...  
> Yay?  
> I dunno. Leave a kudo if you want and subscribe/bookmark if you want to keep track of whenever I update.  
> Tell me any plot holes. I would like to fill them in or pull them open a bit wider.  
> If you have any ideas or headcannons for this story feel free to put them in your comments. I can't promise that I'll use them, but I can say that I'll read them.  
> Bye little blossoms.


	4. Hold Your Breath and Don't Look Down (The Demon Is Searching Far Below)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus figures out a plan for getting him after a somewhat reasonable time.  
> Dave gets some more unfortunate ghostly friends.  
> Đắk Tô happens and that really is a complete and utter mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there.  
> I'm going to say it outright - I don't think I'll ever get to a consistent writing schedule. Really sorry about that, but I can say that I will do my best to make what I do write good quality.  
> Only the best for all you you. Take care of yourselves out there!  
> One word of advice: Klaus can die, but he can't be killed.  
> Just think on that for a bit.  
> Sorry that this is so long. Onto the story!

Klaus staggered into the encampment, his vest covered in a thin sheen of blood. The gash on his upper arm throbbed in time with his uneven steps (which probably wasn’t a good thing). He slipped around the mines, letting Jamie's dim glow lead the way as his tired brain refused to cooperate with the rest of his body.

There was a shout of alarm as he entered the camp, significantly brighter ghostly hands coming to hold Klaus under the arms even as grey started to take over his vision.

“Klaus. Klaus! Talk to me, hon. Don’t you dare die on me. Again. Really never thought I'd have to say that...” That voice... was it really him? Bleeding out wasn’t fun, but at least he’d wake up fine... and maybe he'd still be there...

~~~

 _Aaaaaaand_ monochrome. There was a picnic blanket this time. Huh. That’s new.

The little girl sighed and offered him a little cucumber sandwich. She looked just the same as always, just a little bit more done than usual. Klaus did seem to have that effect on people.

"What have I told you about dying?" God's voice was just as exasperated as Her expression.

"Not to. But we both know I don't listen." Klaus sat down and took the offered sandwich. Being in Vietnam wasn't all that bad, but it did make him homesick for food that wasn't rations or Vietnamese (no matter how good it was). He let out a muffled groan as he bit into the cucumber treat.

"Unfortunately, yes. We've had enough of these little conversations for me to know that it isn't personal." Klaus let out a low hum of agreement as he chewed. "Tell me Klaus, do you know what the date is?"

"Only that it's sometime in late 1967. I know what's coming in January."

"I'm honestly surprised you remember. As of right now, it's October 28th. When are you planning to get home, Klaus?" He blinked in suprise at the change in topic.

"I'm going to join the defense against the Charlies when they attack in late January, missy. You can't stop me from doing that at the very least."

She scoffed in disbelief, Her monochrome eyes rolling. "Klaus, I let you crawl around in those tunnels for at least a month and resurrected you practically every other day."

"It wasn't that bad!" She gave him a look. "Okay, so maybe it was. But hey, I'm officially a tunnel rat now!"

"Klaus, just answer the question." God sighed, clearly seeing through his attempt at misdirection. Man, She was getting good at that.

"I'm going to get home after the end of the Tet Offensive."

"If you are actually remembering that right, then there are a lot of different answers to that question. Which phase?"

"Just the first one. I can't stay here much longer or you're going to have to wake me up from cancer one day." She snorted but waved a hand dismissively. Klaus could feel the last few threads of his spirit returning to his body. "Until next time, little miss."

The last thing he saw was God burying Her face in Her hands while muttering, "Why did that moron think they could save the world?"

Klaus wanted to be offended but he really couldn't be.

~~~

Klaus woke up on a bed (cot, really, but a man could hope) with a jolt, the memories of his history lessons singing through his mind. October 28th, huh? There was something about a series of border battles... Đắk Tô. The preemptive start of the last offensive he would stay for.

"Klaus? You with us?" He turned to the side to see Chaz at his side. Jamie was flickering in and out of sight by the entrance of the tent, and the one that had spoken...

Really? After all this time? God, Klaus wanted to hope... but he knew he really shouldn't.

Dave was crouching next to his bed, looking worried. His body was that same shade of glowing blue that Klaus had come to expect to see on the ghosts he summoned. He and Dave were so caught up gazing at each other that only their subconscious noticed both Jamie and Chaz slip out of the tent (as quietly as they could while breathing out a sigh of relief that Dave had finally manifested).

"Dave...?" Klaus whispered, sliding off of the cot as the man (ghost?) in question unfolded to his full height, an inch or so higher than the Séance. He pitched forward, slamming into Dave's chest as he started to cry. Tears streaked down his cheeks as the soldier wrapped his arms around the shaking figure. Klaus clung so tight that he might've strangled him, had Dave been alive.

Dave managed to tear himself away from Klaus just long enough to lean down and cup his face in both hands, brushing his thumbs under the tear-filled emeralds.

"God, Klaus. I- You have no idea how much I've missed you." Klaus let out a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a sob, eyes closing as he leaned into Dave's soft palms.

"Dave; Dave you don't know how long its been."

"Well I'm here now, right?" Dave let one of his hands drop down to the back of Klaus' neck and pressed a desperate kiss onto his lips. He didn't care about anything except this single moment.

Klaus wrapped his arms around the back of Dave's head, pulling him ever closer.

Klaus had waited so long for this... and it was so worth it. Despite Dave's whole being dead problem this could work out. Who better to date a ghost than the only person that could see them?

Not the time to think. Just spend the time with the hubby.

~~~

When the two of them exited the tent some time later, a loud wolf whistle echoed across the camps. (It was swiftly followed by a smacking sound as well as a yelp of pain. Oliver rubbed his shoulder, pouting.)

Sarge stepped out of the command tent as if summoned by the whistle. He raised a thick eyebrow at the half-undead couple before rubbing at his temple with one hand, praying that nothing exploded in the next few days. (Somewhere, a young girl laughed as she recalled the explosive record that Umbrella Academy had amassed. That poor man.)

Klaus' smile was infectious, lighting up the entire area. Dave seemed a bit more calm, but still grinning as he wrapped his arms around Klaus from behind, pressing a quick kiss onto his hair.

Liam ran forward, tacking the pair with a massive bear hug. A cheer, rife with laughter, echoed around the camp as more and more people started to join the group hug. Even Sarge has a content smile on his face.

Klaus was going to miss that laughter in the months to come.

~~~

Just as Klaus knew something was coming, so did the rest of the camp. The spectral flickers were becoming more and more restless as the weeks passed. They all remembered the fate of the two battalions that had been sent into battle earlier that summer.

A few new ghostly friends had joined the group during the time of the operation.

Barely a month later, they were called to Đắk Tô to help bolster the troops stationed there. Klaus was overly tense as the days went by, nerves winding tighter and tighter until everyone understood exactly why.

They never could've known what was coming. None of them... except Klaus.

~~~

"Chaz, on your 8! Liam, move! Jamie, hurry it up already!" Klaus' voice was one of the only things cutting clearly through the rush of explosions and gunfire. His spectral comrades were flitting around the battlefield, stealthily taking out as many Charlies as they could. Bit too much energy- but now was not the moment.

(Keep going. You know what'll happen to everyone if you don't. You remember the statistics. Keep them safe.)

The shouts and screams were building, parts of speech flitting in and how of ringing ears. Klaus could feel somehow warm ghost hands laying themselves on his shoulder as he focused through the sight of his rifle. A good sniper model that he's set up on a hill a way back from the fighting. He was running through the ammo faster than he'd though he would, but that was the least of his problems.

The ground shook underneath Klaus, sending things rolling and his heart pounding. Panicked shouts filled his ears as a mushroom cloud peeked its way out over the treetops. What?

He knew that no nukes were out there during this war, but he could've changed that. Klaus squinted into the glow, trying to figure out what had happened. He wasn't dead, so it probably wasn't a nuke.

Onto the next target. Maybe he could get Jamie to get him some more ammo-

 ~~Oliver~~. no n _o no nO NO **NO!**_

_What happened to keeping them safe?_

Klaus wouldn't let them die. One of them was already gone, but he could always come back. He stood, abandoning his sniper in favor of his usual automatic type. Clenching his jaw, he leaped down the sharp slope of the hill, activating his powers at the last moment.

What was the saying?

**Blood for blood.**

~~~

The next few days were a bit of a blur. Klaus wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but all he knew was that he definitely wasn't in Đắk Tô anymore. The ghostly energy would've been a lot stronger there. He could still feel several life forces flickering in and out somewhere vaguely nearby, but everything felt so numb.

Okay. Backtrack. He was launching himself down a hill, zooming into a line of defenders... and that's when things start to get blurry.

Alright them. He'd gone under while still fueled by that insane bloodlust, and that was definitely not a good combination. Hopefully he never had to do that again.

Fading fast, Klaus could hear soft murmurs and a peaceful feeling (that didn't belong in wartime) before everything turned fully black.

~~~

Klaus popped open a singular eye, all too used to hangover headaches. It felt like he'd been extremely drunk the night before, just maybe not on alcohol. HIs powers were weird and rather overwhelming at times.

"Klaus?" Hesitant. Almost overly so. Sounded.. off too. Oh no, he knew why. He still hadn't done enough.

"Hey there, kid."

"Still not a kid, you know." Klaus rolled onto his side, glancing up at the bluish form of Peter.

"You know that never mattered with us, right? You being dead isn't going to help that point." Sitting up fully, Klaus ruffled said kid's hair before swinging his legs down off of the cot. Peter made a small movement as if to stop him, but ended up offering an arm to help him up.

Klaus grinned as he made his way out of the tent, smile fading when he recognized Oliver talking to Dave just outside the entrance. Both of their figures were colored in blue.

Dave walked (floated...?) over with a sad smile, embracing Klaus with a hug so tight he let out a small yelp. Oliver and Peter snickered in the background next to Liam, who was flickering in and out of normal sight.

Klaus buried his face in Dave's neck, bringing his arms up to wrap around the soldier. Both men relaxed at the contact, melting into one another. Surprisingly enough, Klaus was the first one to pull away.

"Did anyone else...Y'know..." Dave's expression turned melancholy.

"No. Chaz is going to be laid up for a while but that's mostly precaution. Sarge made it out mostly okay, with a couple of scrapes here and there. Most everybody on the battlefield that manifested just, well-"

"They kinda melted, man. One second they were there, and the next there were a bunch of ghostly particles floating away on some weird nonexistent breeze."

"Pete, the word for that would be disintegrated"

"Shut up Oliver."

Liam stared up at the sky in complete and utter exasperation, before muttering, "Am I going to have to deal with them for the rest of eternity?"

Klaus gave a small laugh at their antics, cheering up slightly.

Dave let himself be content with the domestic scene, even as he saw the looming shadows of war threaten to overtake his tiny haven. There was still one thing he hadn't told Klaus about... but that could wait.

Who would want to know that they painted one of the fortifications with a bloody message proclaiming vengeance for all those who were killed?

Klaus knew that he'd done something before blacking out for good. He just didn't have to know quite yet. He could let himself be drawn into the haven that the group had created.

He could keep out the ghosts that called for his blood the same way that he had called for theirs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that Klaus was supposed to show up in 1968, probably with a bunch of new recruits when the 173rd would've been in the process of being rebuilt after the battle in and around Đắk Tô. I have chosen to ignore that in favor of trying to place him in where the 173rd would've been when they would've seen the most action. And to be able to reference the actual war timeline.  
> I did some research and I think that if he was going to get a tattoo based on his brigade he would use their insignia, right? Well, I can see him doing something different for the sake of being unique but there would probably be a wing in there somewhere.  
> So he arrived in September of 1995 with a batch of new recruits. Dave dies during the last days of Operation Thayer, which would be in late October of 1966. I'm trying to keep things vague here, because in real life the only American division involved with that was the 1st Cavalry Division. Let's just say they needed some extra help or something. The timeline makes sense, the placement does not. I don't know how to make it all that much better.  
> Please don't take anything I write as what it was really like in this war. I honestly have no idea and I'm trying not to look too hard so I don't end up getting more depressed than normal.  
> Klaus is going to get home soon. I gotta go back and watch the actual show for references now.


End file.
